The Caryatids repeated throughout this court are the joint work
of John Bateman and A. Stirling Calder. They inject into the court its
fairy spirit without disturbing its repose. They are Puckish,
bat-winged, goblin-horned fairy creatures of an eerie beauty, elfin,
roguish and quaint. Their quality is enhanced by the beautiful color
that has been applied to them, to the garlanded panels between them, to
the cartouches over the archways and, indeed, to all the decorations on
the walls and columns of this court. This richness and depth of color
leads the eye to the three splendid mural lunettes in the arches. These
are Childe Hassam's "Fruit and Flowers" and Charles Holloway's "Pursuit
of Pleasure," at the entrances to the palaces, and Arthur Mathews'
"Victory of Culture Over Force" in the portal that leads to the Court of
the Four Seasons and frames a vista of the bay.
The Harvest
Court of the Four Seasons
The Court of the Four Seasons, classic in spirit, finished and chaste in
execution, required a perfect harmony of mass, line and feeling in the
sculpture that was to embellish it. It was the further task of the
sculptors and mural painters to give the court its meaning, to
illustrate the idea of the earth's abundance and the fruitful
beneficence of the seasons that is implied in the title of the court.
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